Man found guilty of domestic violence, beats more serious charges

Thursday

Mar 7, 2013 at 8:40 AMMar 7, 2013 at 8:40 AM

By Matt Durr?

matt.durr@hillsdale.net?HILLSDALE — Desmond Jacob Turner, 21, of Hillsdale was found guilty by a jury in Hillsdale County Circuit Court Tuesday on one count of domestic violence, but not guilty on two more serious charges. The jury was unable to come to a unanimous decision on one count of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of assault with intent to rob-unarmed.?Testimony during the case revealed shocking details of an early morning fight between Turner and his girlfriend at the time, which escalated into a fight with her family.?Sometime around 6:30 a.m., while the woman was making breakfast, an argument started between the two. In her testimony, the woman, who has a child with Turner, said he attacked her during the fight, ?grabbing her by the hair and throwing her to the ground while yelling at her. The woman then grabbed a glass bottle and swung it at Turner, defending herself.?She did not hit him with the bottle however and eventually he jumped back on top of her continuing the assault.?“He told me he was going to snap my neck,” the woman testified.?Photos sworn into evidence verified bruising and markings around her neck.?The violence was not finished however as Turner again attacked her two more times just minutes after she got dressed to go to work.?“He told me to say goodbye to my daughter because I would never see her again,” she testified, suggesting that Turner planned to take the child and run away.?The woman started walking towards her mother’s home a few blocks away when Turner chased her down, leaving the two-month-old child alone in the home. As he approached her, she fell to the ground in the middle of an intersection. At that time, an off-duty firefighter was passing by in his truck and asked if everything was alright.?She told the man she just wanted Turner to leave her alone. The firefighter drove away, but called 911. That call came in around 7:25 a.m. according to 911 records.?Turner did not deny these events took place and admitted in his testimony to assaulting the woman. That testimony resulted in his conviction on the domestic violence charge.?After the truck drove away, Turner allegedly put the woman in a chokehold and stole her purse. She said during her testimony that he put so much pressure on her throat, she could not even scream for help. Turner then took a wallet from her purse and left the scene, leaving the purse behind. He denied that the woman even had a purse or making contact with the woman once they left the house.?From there the woman went to her parents’ home where her mother was leaving to take another child to work. As she was leaving, the victim’s stepfather as informed of the events and left to go retrieve the child who was presumably alone in the home.?When the stepfather arrived he saw the child being held by his grandmother, but no sign of Turner. Upon entering the apartment, Turner allegedly charged at him and he responded by shoving Turner. During testimony, both the stepfather and his the victim’s mother said Turner then retrieved a knife and held it to the man’s throat, threatening to kill him.?Turner did not deny grabbing the knife, but said he never brandished it at the man or held it to his throat. Turner then called 911 and waited for police to arrive, saying a man had broken into his home.?Sargent Scott Hephner was the first officer to arrive on the scene and said when he arrived he found Turner at the top of the steps holding the knife at his side and six-to-eight feet away from the others in the room. He ordered Turner to drop the knife, but he didn’t comply the first time. After ordering him to drop it a second time, Turner let go of the weapon and was placed in handcuffs.?The discrepancy of testimony created a problem for prosecuting attorney Rod Hassinger who had to prove all elements of the charges beyond reasonable doubt. Defense attorney John Lovinger reminded jurors in his closing statement that Turner denied the victim even had a purse on her for him to rob her of and even if she did, his alleged stealing of the wallet inside was not intended to “permanently remove,” ?the property from her as he went back to the couple’s home after the fight.?Lovinger also reminded the jury that Turner’s version of the events stated that he never held a knife to the stepfather’s throat and that the man shoved him first. During his testimony, the stepfather admitted to pushing Turner, but said he did so because he thought Turner was coming after him.?in his final statements, Hassinger pleaded to the jury that Turner was a violent man and was guilty of all three crimes.?“That’s the type of man Mr. Turner is,” Hassinger said. “He assaults women. That’s the type of man he is.”?The jury deliberated for more than an hour before reaching it’s verdicts.?Prior to sentencing, Lovinger spoke on behalf of Turner saying that he thought his client would benefit from mandatory anger management counseling to help with his violent tendencies.?After the verdict was rendered, Judge Michael Smith proceeded to sentencing because the domestic violence case was a misdemeanor. Turner was sentenced to 90 days in jail with credit for 87 days served. He must also pay $100 in fines.?Turner faced up to 15 years in prison for the assault with intent to rob-unarmed charged.?Coincidentally, he will not be released from jail anytime soon, as Turner was in Hillsdale County District Court Wednesday morning on charges of aggravated assault. While in jail awaiting trial, Turner jumped a man in jail and caused injuries to the man.?In that case Turner was sentenced to 90 days in jail with credit for time served since Jan. 4.

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